The Blogetarian’s Review: Avenue N American Kitchen

A little while back my friends and I stopped into Avenue N American Kitchen in Rumford for brunch one Sunday morning. We had heard some rave reviews and we wanted to try it for ourselves. There is something incredibly charming about a refurbished, renovated mill building. The exposed, white-washed brick, industrial pipe work, and giant-paned glass windows add a level of atmosphere you just can’t get anywhere else.

Now, when I go to breakfast or brunch, I am a standard two eggs over-easy, rye toast, home fries and as much bacon as you can carry kind of guy (sometimes I’ll snarffle down a waffle in record time if the night before was rough enough). I stuck with what I know. I often measure a chef’s skill level based on how my eggs arrive. As easy as an egg is to cook, it can be overcooked within seconds. Really skilled chefs can (and should) account for the time it takes for it to get to your table. If there is even the slightest delay running the food, it could be an EGGcellent disaster. This however, was not the case at Avenue N. My two eggs over easy were cooked perfectly and garnished with green onion, my favorite of the onion family!

Now, as you can tell from the photos, it was Christmastime when we visited Avenue N which means that there was a special eggnog cocktail, which I inevitably ordered. I don’t know why, I DON’T LIKE THEM, and I order them every time! I think I expect them to taste like I’m reliving my childhood when I would mix hot chocolate, eggnog and a candy cane together. But that’s not what they taste like, and not even what they advertise them to taste like, but I get them anyway and I’m immediately disappointed.

I was happy once again when I ordered an amazing Bloody Mary after I chugged my glass of holiday disappointment. Now that breakfast was lit, I ordered up some tasty little lemon ricotta donuts. Now, I love me a donut, but these were out of this world! These melted in my mouth and the coating of cinnamon sugar reminded me of eating a tiny churro filled with cake . . . what’s better than that? Nothing!

My friends had their breakfast regulars as well—huevos rancheros and a Western omelette. Both were amazing and I stole a bite of each! The attention to details, the grilled sourdough bread and the atmosphere makes this place a winner in the prestigious brunch category.